The study published Wednesday in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine estimates there have been 519,981 reported rapes that led to 64,565 pregnancies in the 14 states, which have enacted abortion bans since the Dobbs decision in 2022.
Researchers from Planned Parenthood and Resound Research for Reproductive Health said most of the 14 states do not have exceptions that allow abortion for cases of rape and, if they do, require the rape to be reported to authorities.
The states included in the study were Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia.
According to researchers, “few, if any,” of the women and girls who became pregnant as the result of rape “obtained in-state abortions legally, suggesting that rape exceptions fail to provide reasonable access to abortion for survivors.”
“Survivors of rape who become pregnant in states with abortion bans may seek a self-managed abortion or try to travel to a state where abortion is legal, leaving many without a practical alternative to carrying the pregnancy to term,” the study says.
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